August 9 Update From Easton First Selectman Bindelglass

**News Release Submitted by Easton First Selectman Bindelglass**

Aug. 9, 2024

Good afternoon,

Last week was an interesting week with the carnival and some powerful storms. First, thanks to the volunteer fire department for running a great carnival under difficult weather circumstances. As always, it was a great event. Saturday, we had severe storms, resulting in fallen trees, multiple road closures, and about 10% of the town losing power. All of our emergency services did a great job and life was close to normal by Monday. I am working on a post-mortem report on how the storm was handled and will go over it with United Illuminating as well. Communication and further tree work will be reviewed. Coincidentally, Frontier experienced outages that affected internet services to a number of citizens. They seemed to have trouble locating what turned out to be a partially sliced cable. Information was not easily forthcoming, so we will approach that with them as well.

A beloved summer highlight, the 15th Annual Easton Farm Tour, this year in honor of the late Jane Paley, and hosted by Citizens for Easton (CFE), kicks off on Saturday, August 10, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. This highly anticipated event promises a day of fun-filled activities, educational opportunities, and a chance to explore both the area's rich agricultural heritage and historic sites. The first stop on the farm tour will be at Samuel Staples Elementary School Pavilion. A map of farms and the day’s events will be distributed. Map holders will receive discounts and samples at the participating farms. At the pavilion, Citizens for Easton (CFE) volunteers will host community projects and offer membership information. The Easton Garden Club will also be teaching gardeners-to-be some tricks of the trade. Children and families can enjoy old-time fun and games provided by the Easton Community Center staff from 10:00 am to noon, promising delightful entertainment for the young ones before setting out to visit participating farms. The Self-Guided Farm Tour, running from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, will give visitors a chance to explore some of Easton's finest farms and orchards and to meet our farmers and several distinguished Easton historians. For more information about CFE, visit citizensforeaston.org.

Beginning in 2019, a group of entrepreneurs in town got together and started the Easton Chamber of Commerce. Initially, they had approximately 30 businesses that wanted to join. They wrote bylaws, and then the pandemic hit, and the time commitments of some of the founders derailed the development of the organization. They are currently looking for anyone who might be willing to take over restarting the organization. If you are interested please reach out to me and I will put you in touch with the appropriate people.

This week, at the suggestion of the organization 'Easton’s Here to Help', I convened a meeting of several departments in town (Park and Recreation and the Library) the administration of Helen Keller Middle School, and the administrator of the Eaton Community Center. We discussed the issues faced by our children and families, which of course, mirror those of families all around the country. Our first steps are to provide education and communication regarding services available, as well as coordination between the different groups. The national opioid settlement provided some funding that we can use to get started. Please look for more information in the future.

ROAD CLOSED – DOGWOOD DRIVE, BETWEEN #80 AND #72. Beginning the week of August 12, 2024, the Town of Easton will be doing drainage work on Dogwood Drive between #80 and #72. Weather permitting, this closure will last approximately two weeks. Please follow the detour signs to get around the closure. You will be able to access from #80 to #110 Dogwood Drive from Pond Road, and up to #72 Dogwood Drive from the Glovers Lane and Dogwood Drive intersection.
As a follow-up to our discussions about speeding and traffic violations in Easton, we have purchased a fourth speed measurement sign which you will see around town. Remember, those signs not only show motorists their speed but also collect data. If you have seen a sign and are interested in looking at the data collected, you can reach out to me or Chief Doyle. We will continue to evaluate the data as it comes in. When Chief Doyle spoke at the board of selectmen meeting in July, he discussed a grant that the town receives in $5,000 increments. The most recent period allowed for 72 hours of overtime, specifically for traffic patrols, which resulted in 102 traffic stops in town. We will be applying for the next $5,000 shortly. The next step is to try and correlate enforcement with actual changes in behavior. We are still looking at other options and invite comments.

The Easton Senior Center will be offering adults by Appointment only: Flu, COVID, Shingles, and Pneumonia shots on Tuesday, September 24th, and Wednesday, October 16th from 7:00 am to noon. Please call to schedule your appointment today at (203) 268-1145. Please bring your insurance ID when you come for your appointment. Read more
College students, please be sure that you request your Absentee Ballot before you head back to school. Please visit https://www.eastonct.gov/home/news/attention-college-students for more information.

As many of you know, the Aquarion water company which is the owner of all of our reservoirs in town, is a subsidiary of Eversource. Eversource has decided, that for financial reasons, it plans to sell off the water company. The first bidder is the South-Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority (RWA). This is the regional water company for greater New Haven. It is a quasi-government agency which is different from the privately held Aquarion. It is essentially self-regulated and not subject to oversight by PURA, The Public Utility Regulatory Authority. RWA’s governing board has representatives from each town, and an appointee of the governor, giving public input.

Currently, Aquarion is the largest property taxpayer in Easton. By state law, RWA is exempt from paying property taxes, but they pay something called PILOT (Payment in lieu of taxes). My first selectman colleagues and I are meeting to discuss this because we all have concerns that with this potential change, all the towns could lose significant revenue. Since they are not regulated, there are questions about what might happen to rates and services for consumers, and our fire district which services the hydrants in town. Public hearings will be held later this month as RWA needs approval from its board to submit a bid to purchase Aquarion. I will make information about the public hearings available. We will collect information and discuss it among the regional first selectmen, and I will make my thoughts known as more information becomes available. Easton’s relationship with whoever owns our reservoirs is critical. Any potential sale needs careful scrutiny.

Have a great weekend.

Dave